While the Scout Rifle concept has been around for decades and was heavily popularized in the past by Colonel Jeff Cooper, most versions were either costly custom rifles or esoteric — and pricey — production ones. But the .308 bolt-action Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle — a Ruger M77-based weapon developed with the help of the famed Gunsite Academy — offers all the benefits of such a design but within the pricing philosophy that has made Ruger the company it is today.
The rifle features a removable 10-round box magazine (five-shot versions are also available) and a 16½” barrel that is capped off by a removable flash suppressor that employs the popular ⅝-24 thread pattern so the weapon can be fitted with a wide variety of aftermarket .30cal accessories.
The M77 action and barrel are fitted to a black laminate stock that features a checkered grip and forearm as well as soft rubber recoil pad that includes three removable spacers, which allow the rifle’s length of pull to be adjusted to the user and the clothing or gear they are wearing.
The gun comes with an adjustable ghost ring aperture rear sight and a wing-protected front post. But more importantly, it also comes equipped a forward-mounted Picatinny rail to allow the mounting of intermediate eye-relief scopes (not included) that allow the fast “both eyes open” kind of target acquisition that the Scout Rifle is all about.
This gun retails for $995.
